"There's another set of lessons to be learned from Superstorm Sandy, and the drought in the Midwest, and other occurrences in the weather patterns of this nation, and that is that climate change is real," Garamendi said. "It is real. It is actually happening as we speak.

"We know that the great ice caps around this world are diminishing. We know that the ocean levels are rising. We know that there is a warming across this entire planet, and we know that this will have profound effects."